Above average compared to the rest of the world would be >$34,000 per year. Above average for your circle of friends/acquaintances....>?

We're only talking money here? No other staples are included like housing, clothes, olive oil?

lol I was way off when saying $34,000 per year was average for the world. That's the top 1%.

You get a lump sum of money, one time, for no reason.

You can do whatever the heck you want to with it, and if that includes housing or clothes or whatever that's up to you.

Every single aspect of your life is exactly the same except now you have a large windfall of money for no reason.

I am not comparing myself with the whole world, just the typical borderline middle-class guys.

Those who are earning between 35k-70k are for the most part spending their leisure time doing the same ****, but on a different scale. In my opinion, you would need to be earning at least $80k+ a year to afford the luxuries that your type borderline middle-class guy can't.

Although, preferably you want that figure to be around the $120k mark. $120k * 70 = 8.4 million. So yeah, just under/over 10 million would be sufficient if you want an above-average lifestyle.

This isn't the question. If that is what you want to know you need to phrase the OP differently. Someone who has more earning potential is going to need much less money upfront to be "set for life". Someone who lives in Minnesota and intends on staying there is going to need way less than a single person in a major city.

If you were unemployed and didn't plan on working, 10 million would be a completely reasonable and likely low answer for a young single guy in a major city.

For about 100K/year I'd consider myself set. I'd probably still work sometimes but just blow that money.

I figured about 2 million would be enough to safely give me that if I invested it.

Legit laughed out loud at this. Nicely done.

Que? This is troll post. Must be.

I've thought about this a ton and given the parameters of the OP, 1-1.5 mill would be plenty. Invest, get 5% (which is likely the least you could get) and live off of 50K a year, single.

No problem.

Im not living off of it, im just retiring 40 years down the road on it.

Who the hell is just going to "use" the money until it runs out. If you don't invest it and live off the interest, you'd be out of your mind. So, at 120K a year, you wouldn't need anywhere even close to 8.4 million. Nevermind 10 million. Even if you put 10 million in a 2% CD, you'd make 200K a year and still have 10 million in 30 years.

What does the above avg. lifestyle package offer?

Any version of "set for life" that includes having to work seems wrong.

That's totally separate from if you would *choose* to keep working or not.

Edit: For example, this definition means that if you get severely disabled or something you have a ****ty life.

Ugh, no.

First of all, 5% is not the low end of risk free investment. It is very unrealistic. Remember, we cannot have any risk of ruin.

Secondly, no one is living on 50k a year and is "set for life". It's obviously doable living frugally but who the hell is going to have 1.5 M sitting in the bank and not be able to do things like go to nice dinners and go on vacations because it would blow up our alotted budget for the year.

No factoring for inflation either. 50k a year not going to buy the same lifestyle in 2025 as it does today.

£3.3M is what it takes in the UK, so $5M, to be considered 'wealthy', but I don't think I'd need that much.

£1.7M would be (pre-tax) my likely lifetime earnings between now and a 65-y-o retirement, so I'd take £1.5-£2M right now to never work again.

P

Who said I was going to put it in completely risk free investment? Pretty sure I could find very low risk investment that gets 5%. My brother has gotten more than 5% on his 401K over the last 17 years.

And 50K for a single person is absolutely plenty, even without being particularly frugal, unless you live in a major city and go out 4 times a week.

Wow, I'm pretty shocked by the options on the poll here. It's definitely over $10M. I was expecting $5M-10M as one of the lowest options on the poll.

"Set for life" implies literally nothing financially can go wrong. If you get cancer and need treatment, but are uninsured (as a single guy who isn't working likely will be) then you're pretty much done for even with $1M in the bank. Even $2-3M, the most popular option, is only 20-30 years of $100k salary, which is roughly middle class in prosperous western culture these days. When we know "rich people" who we consider "set for life" we definitely don't consider them being equivalent of earning $100k/year. It's way higher than that.

$8-9M is pushable as maybe being considerable to be set for life. But it's at least $10M. More realistically something in the $25Mish area.

**** man, I'd give a lot to live somewhere a comfortable house only costs $350k.

affordable care act, tho

Yep, and what if I develop a debilitating gambling problem? Or become helplessly addicted to setting fire to 50 dollar bills? Need at least 30 mill imo.

I'm assuming you are the one joking. First of all, the OP said he left it vague on purpose, so the lifestyle is left up to each person. You would need to purchase a house that met your standards, several cars (including classics), probably a second home (all for cash) and then invest into a market that can be notoriously fickle at times.

This is without ever HAVING to work again. Throw in inflation, downturns in various investments, health care, etc., etc. and that money that you've thought so much about begins to look real small. You don't want to get to my age and then find that you figured wrong and have to go back to work.

Uno is right, if you want a good (emphasis on the good and never having to worry about money) life without working for the next fifty plus years, it will take more than ten million.

I am seriously shocked by how many people neglect to think of just investing the money and living off the interest. 2-3 million is not in any way only 100K a year for 20-30 years. It's a ton more than that.

Has this particular combination of letters ever appeared on the internet before?

What is this, I don't even...

He said "above average" lifestyle. He didn't say "The lifestyle I would want". If you're tastes are such that you would need two houses, classic cars and the like for you to consider not working, so be it, that's your choice, and yes, you would need more than 1.5 mill (however, even to have those things, you certainly don't need 10 mil). But don't tell me that your lifestyle choice is only "above average" because based on how people live in America, that's just insanely ridiculous.

I'm 25 and I have lived a very above average life. I have experienced great traveling/networking opportunities. Great friends, awesome hobbies, so money right now wouldn't change a whole lot in the sense that anything I want I have found ways to earn. Obv driving a lambo pouring champagne on naked Victoria secret models is a different story, but I wouldn't say I care much about that.

It's more valuable to have a huge sum in 30 years for my father, brothers and sisters, thier kids, and my wife. Giving them a strong future is much more important to me than being rich while I'm young. Don't gotta be rich to be happy and have fun.